ABL Bio said on the 19th it will present, in a poster at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), preclinical results showing that two bispecific antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) candidates demonstrated improved anticancer efficacy and safety compared with conventional monospecific antibody ADCs.
AACR will be held April 17–22 (local time) in San Diego, California.
ABL Bio's U.S. subsidiary Neoc Bio recently received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for investigational new drug (IND) applications to conduct phase 1 clinical trials of the bispecific ADC candidates "ABL206" and "ABL209."
ABL206 simultaneously targets B7-H3 and ROR1, and ABL209 simultaneously targets EGFR and MUC1. Both use a payload based on a topoisomerase 1 inhibitor.
According to the abstract, in nonclinical cell and animal studies ABL206 showed enhanced anticancer efficacy and safety compared with ROR1- or B7-H3-targeted monospecific antibody ADCs, and it demonstrated generally favorable tolerability in GLP toxicology studies in nonhuman primates. ABL209 likewise exhibited strong antitumor activity while mitigating EGFR-related toxicity.
Chief Executive Officer Lee Sang-hoon of ABL Bio said, "The two candidates have secured promising preclinical data as next-generation ADCs," adding, "Neoc Bio is carrying out clinical development, with the goal of releasing initial phase 1 data in 2027."